The Dark Knight about four years ago, virtually everyone on the planet has been eagerly anticipating the next entry in Christopher Nolan's Batman saga. The only thing exceeding our anticipation was our expectations. After all, given Nolan's track record and the brilliance of the first two films, we've all been certain from the outset that the third -- and what is purportedly the final -- act in the trilogy was going to blow us away.
But, what if it didn't? What if it fell victim to the Third-Movie-in-a-Super-Hero-Series Curse and just stunk up the place? Between the tradition of franchise-ruining third entries and the law of averages suggesting that Nolan is due for a misfire, there was a lot going against The Dark Knight Rises. And, honestly, when the first few trailers started rolling out, I, personally, started to feel like maybe the just wasn't going to be as good as we all hoped/needed it to be.
If you haven't seen the movie in the first two days, you'll be happy to know that my fears were misplaced. This is a very good movie. It left me riveted, fascinated, and anxious to go out and see it again. But, that doesn't mean it's flawless.
Rather than catalog all the little problems with this movie, I'll just lump them into one big problem: the first hour. The first sixty minutes or so of the movie are, for lack of a better word, dumb. Another good descriptor for the initial hour would be sloppy.
It's almost as if Nolan had come up with a great Batman story -- one about a terrorist taking over Gotham City, punishing its wealthy oppressors, and watching the city collapse on itself while Batman is unable to stop it -- but couldn't think of the set-up. This is a great Batman story, one for the ages. But, while Nolan sticks the landing, the opening could have used a lot of work.
The movie is set eight years after the events of The Dark Knight. It spends the first hour introducing us to the primary villain, Bane (played by Tom Hardy), a masked hulk of a bad guy who, at first, apparently wants nothing more than to beat the crap out of Batman. We also meet a secondary sort-of villain, Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), otherwise known to Batman fans as Catwoman, though that name is never uttered in the movie. Kyle is extraordinarily talented thief with mysterious ties to Bane. And, of course, we catch up with Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), who, after Batman took the fall for Harvey Dent's death, has been living the life of a broken-down recluse.
As you might expect, when Bane starts making trouble, Batman is called back into action to stop him. That's about the only part of the first hour that makes any sense.
Everything else seems like it was hastily built and stuck together by chewing gum and spit.First, there's a cop named Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who, upon first hearing about Bane's antics, reveals that he knows that Bruce Wayne was Batman. There are brilliant people all over Gotham who were never able to figure out Batman's secret identity, but, inexplicably, this young cop has known for years. You see, he met Bruce Wayne once...and that's about the extent of the explanation. This is the kind of plot development that happens for no good reason, other than its in the script and it'll be necessary later on.
Then, there's a horribly developed romance between Bruce Wayne and Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard), a wealthy philanthropist. Tate has invested in a green energy project with Wayne and, after Bane's plot bankrupts Wayne Enterprises, she steps in to save the company. Then, for no reason whatsoever, Wayne and Tate decide to get naked in front of a fire at Wayne Manor and she becomes Bruce's new reason for living. Eventually, we learn why this had to happen for the sake of the plot, but that doesn't make it feel less contrived.
Couple these issues with some odd pacing problems and some really horrible dialogue, and you've got a first act that seems destined to disappoint. All of this ends in a sequence wherein Selina leads Batman into an underground chamber where Bane is waiting. A fight ensues and Bane injures Batman in a way that will shock those who haven't read the comic books. Those that have will see it coming a mile away, but that doesn't make it any less harrowing.
This ends the first hour of The Dark Knight Rises. More important, it ends the crappy part of the movie. The remaining 90 minutes or so is as brilliant as anything Nolan has put together in the previous Batman films. We see a coordinated terrorist attack on Gotham City and Bane taking control of the city in the aftermath. Batman, with his injuries, is stored away, unable to do anything until he addresses his physical, mental, and spiritual ailments.
I'm hesitant to say much more as there may be a few people left on the planet who haven't seen the movie yet. Needless to say, the movie earns it stripes on home stretch and, though it takes a while to get there, it's well worth the wait. The story unfolds at a near-perfect clip, expanding the universe of Gotham's characters and the scope of villainous plot. The final half hour is so outstanding that it'll basically make you forget any earlier complaints.
Tom Hardy's Bane doesn't really measure up to Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight. But, that's fine...he doesn't have to. Bane, unlike the other villains in the series, is a physical threat to Batman, that makes him a fitting choice for what ends up being the biggest and baddest movie in the trilogy.
Among the complaints I've read about the movie is that Batman doesn't have much screen time. This seems a little weird to me because the movie delves far more into Bruce Wayne's character than any of the other two movies. Bale gives what is easily his best performance of the franchise. Who cares if most of it didn't take place while he was donning the cowl?
As this version of Batman rides off in the figurative sunset, there's no shortage of speculation out there regarding the character's future. With Superman returning to theaters next year, most are thinking that DC comics will be going the Marvel route in trying to introduce their characters into a single universe, creating a Justice League to parallel The Avengers. I've heard some people discuss the ending of this movie and how it might fit into those plans.
In my opinion, this version of Batman -- rendered by a remarkable filmmaker at the top of his game -- needs to end here. With The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan has accomplished the impossible by completing a super hero trilogy for the ages without jumping a single shark or nuking a single fridge. It would be impossible to imagine this version of Batman existing in world that already has a Superman or a Green Lantern. Nolan has made it very clear that he's not returning to the character after this movie. So, while a new version of Batman is inevitable and probably welcome, it should really be a new version. The world inhabited by Nolan's Batman should be kept just the way he left it.
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